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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
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OP
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13 |
We have a small camp trailer that we pull with our Toyota Highlander. I recently pulled it 600 miles with no problems. Then last week the trailer brakes quit working. The controller gave me an OL light which means a short in the system somewhere. I tried the trailer on the pickup and it worked ok. I then plugged a different trailer into the Toyota and got the OL light. That pretty well narrows it down to the wiring in the car. I went over it repeatedly and couldn't find any shorts between the controller and the light plug. I finally ran new heavier power and ground wires the whole way. Same problem. The plug was new this spring, Hopkins brand. It took a bunch of time with a multimeter but I found that it was shorting inside the plug. It's a factory defect that sent the power from the brakes to the right turn lights. I had another new in the box Hopkins plug so I swapped it for a new one. Same problem. Hair tearing time. What are the odds of getting 2 factory defective plugs at the same time, but that's what I had. I had yet another Hopkins plug that was in good shape. This one wasn't new but it was a more expensive type with the wires molded in so no screws are involved. It's just attaching the car wires to the plug pigtails. This time it's working again. I wasted many hours tracking the dang thing down. The problem is that the blades in the plug wear through the rubber between them and the 2d one I tried was broken through from the factory. Hopkins is pretty low on my recommended company list right now.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Oct 2010
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 7,739 Likes: 8 |
What are the odds of getting 2 factory defective plugs at the same time, but that's what I had. Is the package stamped "Made in China"?
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
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OP
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13 |
Have you tried to find anything of this type that ISN'T made in China?
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,628 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,628 Likes: 1 |
What are the odds of getting 2 factory defective plugs at the same time, but that's what I had. Is the package stamped "Made in China"? Hopkins could be an alias for Hop Sing.
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Joined: Oct 2010
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 7,739 Likes: 8 |
Have you tried to find anything of this type that ISN'T made in China? I haven't looked. Nor am I suggesting there is an alternative, just that the country of manufacture explains the defect rate. That and Hopkins' decision to compete exclusively on price. Sometimes there is no choice but to accept the likelihood of getting chinked. Many such cases.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,317 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,317 Likes: 2 |
Reason number 806 why I hate China.
As if trailer wiring isn’t fugged enough
Last edited by Higginez; 07/30/22.
Screw you! I'm voting for Trump again!
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the 24HCF.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,240
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,240 |
Right after man invented the wheel, he invented the trailer, He's been trying to keep the lights working ever since.
I could wish a lot of things on my worst enemy but neuropathy ain't one of them.
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 38,918 Likes: 9
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 38,918 Likes: 9 |
"You've got a bad ground."
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
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OP
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,429 Likes: 13 |
"You've got a bad ground." That's usually the case but I ran a 12g wire directly from the plug to the battery. The problem was that it was shorting across from the brake wire to the right turn wire, inside the plug.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,844 Likes: 20
Campfire Savant
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Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,844 Likes: 20 |
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 118
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 118 |
Thursday on the way home from work I followed a brand new trailer- literally right out of the manufacturers lot - that had the right hand turn/brake light not working. Of course it didn't have to be a trailer problem, could have been the truck or connection. Surprised that the person pulling it hadn't checked the lights before they left with it.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,289 Likes: 27 |
Right after man invented the wheel, he invented the trailer, He's been trying to keep the lights working ever since. "You've got a bad ground." LOL
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,628 Likes: 29
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,628 Likes: 29 |
We have a small camp trailer that we pull with our Toyota Highlander. I recently pulled it 600 miles with no problems. Then last week the trailer brakes quit working. The controller gave me an OL light which means a short in the system somewhere. I tried the trailer on the pickup and it worked ok. I then plugged a different trailer into the Toyota and got the OL light. That pretty well narrows it down to the wiring in the car. I went over it repeatedly and couldn't find any shorts between the controller and the light plug. I finally ran new heavier power and ground wires the whole way. Same problem. The plug was new this spring, Hopkins brand. It took a bunch of time with a multimeter but I found that it was shorting inside the plug. It's a factory defect that sent the power from the brakes to the right turn lights. I had another new in the box Hopkins plug so I swapped it for a new one. Same problem. Hair tearing time. What are the odds of getting 2 factory defective plugs at the same time, but that's what I had. I had yet another Hopkins plug that was in good shape. This one wasn't new but it was a more expensive type with the wires molded in so no screws are involved. It's just attaching the car wires to the plug pigtails. This time it's working again. I wasted many hours tracking the dang thing down. The problem is that the blades in the plug wear through the rubber between them and the 2d one I tried was broken through from the factory. Hopkins is pretty low on my recommended company list right now. Move to Montana, no one up here has any trailer lights working at all and no one seems to care…
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,317 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,317 Likes: 2 |
Screw you! I'm voting for Trump again!
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the 24HCF.
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,876 Likes: 5
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,876 Likes: 5 |
The odds of two new plugs not working?
Better than you might think if purchased at the same time. If new and not working? It's either a defect in components, Or assembly. If both were made at the same time...?
NEW= Never Ever Worked
Last edited by Dillonbuck; 07/30/22.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,846 Likes: 3
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,846 Likes: 3 |
I asked my mechanically challenged buddy to check the turn signals on my trailer. I told him I turned on the left signal and asked him if it was working. He replied, “ now it is, now it isn’t, now it is, now it isn’t.” 😆
Chronographs, bore scopes and pattern boards have broke a lot of hearts.
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,606 |
Did you check the fuses? I know it sounds silly but I've had some funky stuff happen with trailers and the most frustrating was due to partially blown fuses, or fuses that were bad but didn't show it. Symptoms don't quite fit but neither did mine when it happened
Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.
Calm seas don't make sailors.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 15,289 |
One day God got angry with man, so He created trailer wiring.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,628 Likes: 29
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,628 Likes: 29 |
Sure, it would beat the idiots that are coming here from California…
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,641
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,641 |
Must be a lot of people from Louisiana done moved to Montana Shrap.
Go into an auto parts store looking for trailer light bulbs and they look at you like you're crazy.
Imagine a corporate oligarchy so effective, so advanced and fine tuned that its citizens still call it a democracy.
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